MISSOULA — The more you size up the numbers, the more eye-popping they become.

Aside from their 11-0 record this season, the Montana Grizzlies have won 77 games in the past seven seasons, including a 31-1 mark in the Big Sky Conference in the past four years.

UM has won 15 league games in a row and has dropped just two regular-season games since 2006.

What is the reason for this insane success? It might surprise you.

“Special teams have helped us win almost every single game,” said Grizzlies special teams stalwart Cole Lockwood. “We’ve had quite a few close games this year, and if we wouldn’t have had a few huge plays on special teams, we wouldn’t have won some of those.”

It’s true. Special teams is something the Griz take very seriously, partly because it’s an important facet of the game, but mostly because head coach Bobby Hauck serves as their special-teams coordinator.

That’s why Montana is so good in that area.

“The returners, snappers, holders and specialists do a good job,” said Hauck, who previously served as the special-teams coach at Colorado and Washington. “Week in and week out, we don’t have many breakdowns in function at those spots.

“We don’t drop many kicks, we don’t have dropped snaps … we’re focused and we’re pretty good at it. When you limit the egregious errors, it allows you to create field position.”

Montana is perhaps at its best in the kick and punt return game on both sides of the ball. Rarely do the Grizzlies lose the field position battle, and the team is always a threat to bust a big return.

Marc Mariani is a big reason for the latter.

Mariani established himself as one of the best punt returners in the nation with speed and elusiveness.

But it’s not just him.

Mariani averages 18.8 yards per return because of strong blocking and an unbreakable mentality by the entire unit that makes the Havre High School product a threat to go the distance every time.

“If you can get your guy stopped, Marc can take it to the house,” Lockwood said. “Everybody knows what Marc is capable of; it’s just everybody else making sure they win their one-on-one battle. We’re always trying to take one all the way.”

The Griz average 18.7 yards per punt return, the fourth-best total in the Football Championship Subdivision.

On the other side of that coin, the Grizzlies have only faced eight punt returns all year — for an average of 6.2 yards.

That means Montana gains an average of more than 12 yards on its opponents per punt.

Kickoff returners Jabin Sambrano and Peter Nguyen, meanwhile, average 25.7 and 24.7 yards per return. Sambrano’s number ranks second in the league.

As a team, the Griz garner 23.1 yards per kick return.

“Our goal is to average 25 yards per kick return, but we’re a little under that so far,” Hauck said. “The other thing is to have our opponent average a starting position inside the 25-yard line.

“We also want our opponent to average 30 yards or less net punting and for us to average more than 40. So every time we punt the ball we’re flipping the field 10 yards. We’ve been able to achieve that a lot this year.”

Hauck is right. Through 11 games, Montana is averaging 38.0 net yards per punt while limiting teams to 28.5 net yards in that category.

Included in that is stellar coverage. The Grizzlies have not given up a kickoff return or a punt return for a touchdown all year.

“The common thing is speed. That’s huge,” Lockwood said. “We beat guys with speed, we make sure we attack and if we are getting blocked, we make sure we peel off and get to the guy.

“You have to be faster and more physical than the other team. We get graded on everything, so everybody is always fighting for special-teams points.”

Lockwood is among a handful of players who have made a significant impact on special teams. The sophomore from Missoula Sentinel High School this week was named first-team all-conference in that capacity.

Another key is punter Sean Wren. The junior-college transfer’s ability to create depth and hang time on his punts have made the Griz virtually unbeatable in this area.

What’s more, Hauck believes Wren’s best days are ahead.

“He has improved all season long, and he’s going to be a great player for us, I think,” Hauck said.

Kicker Brody McKnight has also been clutch in two years with the team.

Only a handful of head coaches in Division I football also coordinate special teams. Perhaps the most high-profile name to do so is Frank Beamer at Virginia Tech.

Clearly, it’s a hands-on duty.

“It allows me in any given week to coach virtually every guy on the team,” Hauck said. “Whether it’s the return team, the cover team, the field goal team, the hands team or whatever, I get my hands on coaching every kid.

“That way I’m not some kind of figurehead or an administrator, but an actual coach. I have a daily relationship with each guy. It’s good.”

Hauck, Lockwood, Mariani, Wren and the rest of the Grizzlies are preparing to face South Dakota State in the first round of the FCS playoffs Saturday at Washington-Grizzly Stadium in Missoula.

Top-seeded Montana knows it’s in for a tough matchup.

And it’s likely that special teams will again play a big role.

“Our guys believe it’s an important part of the game,” Hauck said. “We emphasize it. We give it due diligence as far as practice time and meeting time goes. It shows up on the field.”